Exactly why I asked. If you look at the pictures, you can see that one of the "vents" is close to peeling off.

 

Lol yes .. It seems porsche likes to disguise with vents.. Maybe they rely on the assumption that the turbos usually come along a year or so later than the base and s.... So no one is looking yet.. Or maybe they assume it might be mistaken for a cayman

 

The more I look at those photos the less I see relating to what the face lifted model might actually look like. It is not even a teaser but rather a complete misdirection.

 

I've usually been impressed by the .2 revision to 911 taillights, subtle body changes, etc. I hope Porsche doesn't take a revolutionary pen-to-paper approach with the 991.2. Even though the body could improved with some slight changes, I feel like the chances of a screw-up are higher this time.

 

What will the badging on the .2 991 models read: Turbo?

Maybe Porsche is intending on supercharging the existing turbo in order to ensure the .2 models stay differentiated.

 

Sorry, I may have missed this but......is the general feeling that this refresh would hold for two yrs?....i.e. the sunset of the 991 (and perhaps manual 911s ) would be 2017MY?

 

If you are saying the last 991 would be 2017MY...? Assuming the cut in is mid model.. So far it was 2012 1/2, 13, 14, 15. Which is just short of 4 years.. So if that is mid cycle.. It would say 2019 would be the last MY of the 991 (8 years total).

In reality I still don't quite understand the cut in of the Turbo's mid model cycle. (or cutting in any brand new engine technology) as it makes much more sense to do that kind of thing on a new model type.

I'm also still suspicious it is all a ruse and nothing but a trial balloon to gauge market reaction. Given that it screws up their entire product line and the differentiation of turbos..

But who knows, maybe it is something they are being driven to by the environmental and fuel economy laws.. Still not convinced it will really happen until I see it.

 

2019, golly.
Eight yrs would be the longest I would recall for a series.....not saying it's not possible.
993 was 6 I believe......996 was 5 1/2......997 was 6 1/2 or 7 depending how you count but more important may be that the 997.2 face lift was good for 3 yrs (09-11) however it was far more than just a face lift and deserved a new number.

I gave up trying to track Turbo intros relative to 911 other than they are 'after'.

 

+1, been saying this since the rumors were published. It'll be a random move for Porsche to do this mid-cycle.

I guess we'll be proven right or wrong soon.

 

Yeah the only wild card in there is the ninny laws (environmental/Fuel economy) that might be forcing their hand on this.

But by the same token, it isn't like the laws are anything new. I'm sure they have baked them into their long term development/product plans. It's really the reason behind all the coasting/autostart non-sense that they introduced with the 991.

The other thing is Porsche has already said they expect to introduce hybrids into the 911 family in the 2019 timeframe.. It would seem that introducing yet another new engine.. i.e the small turbo (given the current 3.4 and 3.8L Boxer engines are pretty new). Then in another 3 years or so start producing hybrids (which in itself is a radically different technology... wondering where the batteries will go? The backseat?).

It just seems like a massive amount of development and cost... not to mention developing a new engine (the current 3.4/3.8) and dumping it after 4 model years.

But who knows.... should be interesting to see what happens..

 

Porsche - like most of the German car makers - is incredibly consistent.


7 (model) year cycles. Refreshes in the 5th model year.


New engines have been introduced with the refreshes for at least the last two models (996 and 997). The new engines in the refreshes have then carried over into the next model.


The Panny and Cayenne refreshes came with smaller displacement, higher output engines. Both the Cayenne and the Macan have forced induction engines across the entire range. They're all "turbos" even though only the high-end models are called "Turbo".


I'd expect all of the above from the MY16 991 911.

 

My dates are are off?
How was 996 seven years (1999 - 2004).
Seven years for 991 would take it out to 2018MY?

 

It's debatable as to what constitutes is a new engine.. in many cases it is simply an evolution/upgrade of an existing engine design. Which is different from an engineering (and development cost standpoint) than going to a completely different engine type..

What you described with the Panny and Cayanne isn't really correct and a stated much more broadly than reality.

At the refresh for the panny (in 2013) not much really changed: The S, got a twin turbo (from NA).. But the displacements for the variants didn't change... The 3.6L is used for the NA's, a 3.0L for the 6 cyl turbo/supercharged models. and then a 4.8L V8 for the GTS, and 4.8L turbocharged for the Turbo/Turbo S.. And in general it is a modest HP increase across the board.

For the Cayanne S Model, it did indeed get a smaller higher output engine.. But they Cayanne's aren't forced across the variants as the Base and S are still NA...

The Macan however is indeed all forced as you mentioned. But that is a clean sheet brand new model. (Which I think is indicative of where eventually things are going.. but it isn't fighting the evolution that existing models have)..

The reality is however that all of the other Porsche models (other the Macon which is new) haven't really changed all that much at the recent refreshes. In general (with an exception or two) I'd characterize them as pretty much having the same engines before/after the refresh). And that supports the general consensus that at mid cycle refresh the engine changes are relatively minimal in terms of type and an incremental HP increase.

Like in the stock market, past performance doesn't mean that is what is going to happen this time, but other than the "rumors" I've seen nothing that convinces me yet that something radical is going to happen in MY16.

Are the smaller turbos replacing the NA's coming. Most certainly, the question is if it is later or sooner.

 

Yeah I'm not sure where I got the 8 years...that's too long.
Not sure on the 996 and 997 about the half years..

996 was 1998 to 2004 (6 years)
997 was 2005 to 2012.5 (7.5 years)

so if 991 goes 7 years.. that would be 2012.5 to 2019.5.. if my math is correct

 

I am not familiar with a MY1998 996.